ThinkCube

By Chuck Frey
Published on InnovationTools on 8/24/2007

ThinkCube, a new idea generation tool from Kes Sampanthar, takes the idea of a brainstorming card deck to the next level. Not only does it provide you with a diverse selection of thought-provoking stimuli, it also incorporates a simple innovation process that should result in a higher quality of ideas.

Several years ago, Kes test-marketed the concept of an idea library using an ideation tool called MetaMemes. It sold out within a year. Many customers were businesspeople seeking to utilize it to solve specific challenges – and they told him they wanted a tool that would be more business oriented and process focused. As a result of the feedback he received on this "beta test" tool, MetaMemes evolved into ThinkCube, a more comprehensive, business-focused brainstorming tool.

ThinkCube comes packaged in an eye-catching orange box that is certain to be a conversation starter. It literally screams, "Wow!" When you remove the cover of the box, there are four "drawers" of cards, entitled Word, Idea and Mutation. The fourth drawer is designed to store your ideas. ThinkCube includes:

* 88 Idea cards, which contain brief stories about specific ideas or principles of creative problem solving.
* 88 Word cards, each of which contain a key word and definition, surrounded by a cluster of related words – sort of like a visual thesaurus entry. This design helps to ensure that if one word doesn't stimulate an idea, one or more of the secondary words may do so.
* 24 Mutation cards, which contain a variety of action verbs to help you modify or “mutate” the Idea and Word cards. These are basically "SCAMPER" cards (i.e., Substitute, Combine, Add, Modify, etc.)
* Several pads of blank Idea cards, upon which you can write your ideas
* A comprehensive instruction manual that explains Kes' "ThinkCubation" brainstorming process, from ideation and incubation through evaluation and implementation.

How it works
To brainstorm utilizing the ThinkCube, you first define your challenge as specifically as possible. To stimulate ideas, you shuffle all of the Idea, Word and Mutation cards into one deck, and then randomly draw six cards from it. This starts you out with a collection of ideas and stimuli from diverse fields and topics.

One of the core principles behind the design of ThinkCube is that the best ideas occur at the intersection of two unrelated disciplines. Therefore, to generate ideas, you combine the contents of two or more of the cards, to see what ideas those random combinations suggest. Ideas can be written down on one of the Idea notepads that are included with ThinkCube.

The innovation process that ThinkCube outlines is one of the key things that differentiates it from other brainstorming tools. Most tools only focus on one aspect of creativity or innovation – usually the ideation part. Kes has wrapped his tool with a simple business process that helps to ensure that people will get better results from their ideation sessions. In particular, the instructions emphasize the importance of incubating ideas, a part of the innovation process that he believes most organizations don’t pay enough attention to.

Conclusion
In ThinkCube, Kes Sampanthar has succeeded in designing an innovation tool that combines a wealth of right-brain stimuli to whack your synapses with a simple left-brained process that will help users to get the best results from it. It’s all part of his vision for bottom-up innovation: “You don't need to wait for your company to start an innovation program; you can start one yourself, grass-roots style, utilizing tools like ThinkCube,” he explains.

Kes says that ThinkCube represents the first in a series of products and services that will help companies to develop innovative cultures. In the near future, he plans to release several sets of expansion packs for the ThinkCube, which will target specific topics like nanotechnology, biotechnology, and management strategy.

You can purchase ThinkCube for US$100 from the MetaMemes website. Quantity discounts are also available – even if you buy two of them, you’ll save US$10 per ThinkCube! The website also includes examples of the cards, and a Flash-powered online version of the tool’s instruction manual, complete with pages you can drag and flip with your mouse. If you want to get a better idea what’s included in the ThinkCube, Kes has provided a rich set of multimedia resources to show and tell more about this interesting ideation tool.